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For those that asked if I could recommend settings more acceptable for the Bose Premium Sound system, I am ready to send a picture of my settings. It took considerable time, and trip (1225 miles) for me to settle in on what I found to work for me. I hope that you all find this helpful. Please note the the image will apper to be slightly behind you. This setting will however, give you a thick and rich sound with plenty of articulation.
OP, thanks for your efforts.

I agree that the sound system is an area on the Bolt Premier that I find lacking. The factory Dynadudio system in my 2011 VW Tiguan ICEV, with no sub, has better bass response and imaging.

I’m hoping that there will be a software update to allow, at least, for more precise equalization settings.

And yes, first-world problem indeed...but we paid first-world money for this thing. Getting good, balanced sound isn’t a hard thing to accomplish nowadays. When it’s absent, it’s especially notable.

That said...two weeks in and I’m still in love with my Bolt, haha!! It’s been a long time since I’ve I had car that makes me smile everytime I climb in. :D
 
If I were a automobile stereo manufacturer- I'd be plenty worried about my future right about now.
With ever more popular embedded/integrated "infotainment" systems it would be ridiculously expensive if not actually impossible to replace the factory "stereo" with an upgraded unit. I started driving in 1979, and up till my first Prius in 2012 I think I replaced the stock factory stereo in every vehicle I owned. That stopped with the Prius, and the Volt and now with the Bolt too. It's a shame when you had a better car sound system 20years ago than in your current $40K vehicle.
 
And yes, first-world problem indeed...but we paid first-world money for this thing.
Actually, I'd like to point out that what we really paid for was a very limited production car with a special 60kw battery in it so we don't have to go to gas stations. All the other stuff is fluff.
 
Mine is faded just level with the backs of the front seats in the diagram.
I tried the recommended settings and it did sound good, but I didn't like having voices and music coming from in back of me.
I've got the bass up one minimum notch, and the mids and highs at center. The sound is about what I'd expect from a minimally-upgraded car stereo, i.e. a bit better than a portable boom-box.
 
For those that asked if I could recommend settings more acceptable for the Bose Premium Sound system, I am ready to send a picture of my settings. It took considerable time, and trip (1225 miles) for me to settle in on what I found to work for me. I hope that you all find this helpful. Please note the the image will apper to be slightly behind you. This setting will however, give you a thick and rich sound with plenty of articulation.
I trust your experience on sound and DSP so I have set as per your recommendation, i will listen at this setting for a few days and see it I like it. I am wondering what would be reason to set it that backwards, is it something to do with sound tuning based on car's interior?
 
Agree 100 %, The bose sound system is certainly not a strong point. The car is fantastic, I payed extra to get the extra sound upgrade expecting something good for a car. The bose bass response is a joke, farty loose mudy bass, I guess some like it. the upper mids are bad and harsh. The eq control is not very good adjusting the bass just add ultra low loose mud. my next step it to see if the sound can be improved by using my LGv30 straight in the aux in.
I have to admit I listen to music home on a high end 845 single end tube amp. My other car is a focus SE 2012 wich stock radio sound pretty good using aux in.
with time I will get use to it, it is a fantastic car overall.
 
Agree 100 %, The bose sound system is certainly not a strong point. ...... I payed (sic) extra to get the extra sound upgrade expecting something good for a car. The bose bass response is a joke, farty loose mudy bass, ........ the upper mids are bad and harsh. The eq control is not very good adjusting the bass just add ultra low loose mud. my next step it to see if the sound can be improved by using my LGv30 straight in the aux in.
I totally agree with this way of describing the Bose sound in the Bolt EV. Bose in general provides lousy sound from the point of view of audiophiles, including the Bose in this car. Even before I bought the car, I groaned when I realized it had a Bose sounds system in it. Bose thinks it knows best what sounds best, and messes with the frequency response according to its tastes, not an audiophile's taste. I have always hated that. Indeed, its tough to find out the frequency response of Bose equipment.
 
I totally agree with this way of describing the Bose sound in the Bolt EV. Bose in general provides lousy sound from the point of view of audiophiles, including the Bose in this car. Even before I bought the car, I groaned when I realized it had a Bose sounds system in it. Bose thinks it knows best what sounds best, and messes with the frequency response according to its tastes, not an audiophile's taste. I have always hated that. Indeed, its tough to find out the frequency response of Bose equipment.

Worse still is their use of generally lousy speakers, which they try to make up for in "post", i.e. tuning the system to the specific interior space using (inadequate, imo) equalization. I've learned that while the Bose "premium" systems tend to sound better than the stock systems in most vehicles, they're far from "audiophile grade".
 
I removed my harsh opinion on the bose system in the bolt premier. Adjusting the fadder more in the back make things better. I still find on some track the bass gets pretty loose and deep. I Wich there would be a low cut to remove 50 Hz or less. I wouldn't mind tighter bass response.
The quality of the sound will depend a lot on the quality of the tracks your playing.
 
i don't really understand the need for super premium sound systems in cars anyway - there's so much road/wind noise, it's not like you're in a really great listening environment. add that to the fact that most people are probably listening to lossy MP3s (sound engineers excepted) - who really cares how premium the system is? but i listen to a lot of talk radio anyway.
Yeah, you and I might be alone in this boat. When I’m alone in the car, I’m good with a moderate volume and the quality in the Bolt seems fine. But most of the time, it’s me and the wife and kids and we’re usually talking or listening to some Disney crap, so the Bolt’s sound system works fine for us.
 
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